Chapter XXX

DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT AT NAUVOO--MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

In this chapter I quote the sayings and instructions of the Prophet on a variety of topics, uttered principally within the period under consideration--from January to June 1843--though there are some exceptions.

THE VARIOUS KINDS OF BEINGS IN HEAVEN.

There are two kinds of beings in heaven, viz: Angels who are
resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones. For
instance, Jesus said, "Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not
flesh and bones as you see me have." Second, the spirits of just
men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the
same glory.

HOW TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF AN ADMINISTRATION.

When a messenger comes, saying he has a message from God, offer
him your hand, and request him to shake hands with you. If he be
an angel, he will do so, and you will feel his hand. If he be the
spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory, for
that is the only way he can appear. Ask him to shake hands with
you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of
heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his
message. If it be the Devil as an angel of light, when you ask him
to shake hands, he will offer you his hand but you will not feel
anything; you may therefore detect him. These are three grand keys
whereby you may know whether or not any administration is from God.

THE PROPHET'S VIEW ON THE CREEDS OF MEN.

I cannot believe in any of the creeds of the different
denominations, because they all have some things in them I cannot
subscribe to, though all of them have some truth. I want to come up
in the presence of God, and learn all things; but the creeds set up
stakes and say, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further," which I
cannot subscribe to.

THE PROPHET ON FRIENDSHIP.

Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of
"Mormonism" to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars
and contentions to cease, and men to become friends and brothers.
Even the wolf and the lamb shall dwell together; the leopard shall
lie down with the kid; the calf and young lion, and the fatling;
and a little child shall lead them; the bear and the cow shall lie
down together, and the sucking child shall play on the hole of the
asp and the weaned child shall play on the cockatrice's den, and
they shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the
Lord of hosts. It is a time-honored adage that love begets love.
Let us pour forth love--show forth all kindness unto all mankind
and the Lord will reward us with everlasting increase; cast our
bread upon the waters, and we shall receive it after many days,
increased to a hundredfold.

ON THE POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD.

Every word that proceedeth from the mouth of Jehovah has such
an influence over the human mind--the logical mind--that it is
convincing, without other testimony. Faith cometh by hearing. If
ten thousand men testify to a truth you know, would it add to your
faith? No. Or will ten thousand testimonies destroy your knowledge
of a fact? No. I don't want any one to tell me I am a prophet, or
attempt to prove my word.

THE PROPHET ON THE LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

It is one of the first principles of my life and one that I have
cultivated from my childhood, having been taught it by my father,
to allow every one the liberty of conscience. I am the greatest
advocate of the Constitution of the United States there is on the
earth. In my feelings I am always ready to die in the protection of
the weak and oppressed in their just rights. The only fault I find
with the Constitution is, it is not broad enough to cover the whole
ground. Although it provides that all men shall enjoy religious
freedom, yet it does not provide the manner in which that freedom
can be preserved, nor for the punishment of government officers
who refuse to protect the people in their religious rights, or
punish those mobs, States or communities who interfere with the
rights of people on account of their religion. Its sentiments are
good, but it provides no means of enforcing them. It has but this
one fault. Under its provision, a man or people who are able to
protect themselves can get along well enough, but those who have
the misfortune to be weak or unpopular are left to the merciless
rage of popular fury. The Constitution should contain a provision
that every officer of the government who should neglect or refuse
to extend the protection guaranteed in the Constitution should be
subject to capital punishment; and then the President of the United
States would not say "Your cause is just but I can do nothing for
you;" governors issue exterminating orders; or judges say, "The men
ought to have the protection of law, but it won't please the mob;
the men must die anyhow to satisfy the clamor of the rabble; they
must be hung, or Missouri be damned to all eternity." Executive
writs could be issued when they ought to be, and not be made
instruments of cruelty to oppress the innocent, and persecute men
whose religion is unpopular.

THE PROPHET'S COMMENT ON GOOD MEN.

I do not think there have been many good men on the earth since
the days of Adam; but there was one good man and His name was
Jesus. Many persons think a prophet must be a great deal better
than anybody else. Suppose I would condescend--yes, I will call
it condescend--to be a great deal better than any of you, I would
be raised up to the highest heavens, and who should I have to
accompany me? I love that man better who swears a stream as long as
my arm, yet deals justice to his neighbors and mercifully deals his
substance to the poor, than the long, smooth-faced hypocrite. I do
not want you to think I am very righteous, for I am not. God judges
men according to the use they make of the light which He gives them.

THE PROPHET'S ESTIMATE AND DESCRIPTION OF HIMSELF.

I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain,
and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by
coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated
force against religious bigotry, priest-craft, lawyer-craft,
doctor-craft, lying editors, suborned judges and jurors, and the
authority of perjured executives, backed by mobs, blasphemers,
licentious and corrupt men and women, all hell knocking off a
corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and
polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty, who will give me
dominion over all and every one of them, when their refuge of lies
shall fail, and their hiding place shall be destroyed, while these
smooth polished stones with which I come in contact become marred.
* * * I am a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and chisel was
never heard on me until the Lord took me in hand. I desire the
learning and wisdom of heaven alone. I have not the least idea, if
Christ should come to the earth and preach such rough things as He
preached to the Jews, but that this generation would reject Him for
being so rough.

OTHER WORLDS THAN OURS AND THEIR REDEMPTION.

Commenting on Revelation v: 13--"And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever"--the Prophet said:

I suppose John saw beings there of a thousand forms, that had
been saved from ten thousand times ten thousand earths like this,
strange beasts of which we have no conception; all might be seen in
heaven. The grand secret was to show John what there was in heaven.
John learned that God glorified Himself by saving all that His
hands had made, whether beasts, fowls, fishes or men, and He will
gratify Himself with them.

THE PROPHET'S DEFINITION OF THE WORD MORMON.

Before I give a definition, however, to the word Mormon, let me say
that the Bible, in its widest sense, means good, for the Savior
says, according to the Gospel of John, "I am the good shepherd,"
and it will not be beyond the common use of terms to say that good
is among the most important in use, and though known by various
names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and
is ever in opposition to bad. We say from the Saxon good; the Dane
god; the Goth goda; the German gut; the Dutch goed; the Latin
bonus; the Greek kalos; the Hebrew tob, and the Egyptian mon.
Hence, with the addition of more, or the contraction mor, we have
the word Mormon, which means, literally, more good.

MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE.

Commenting on II Peter I, 5-10, and also verse 19, the Prophet
said: Now there is some grand secret here, and keys to unlock the
subject. Notwithstanding the Apostle exhorts them to add to their
faith virtue, temperance, etc., yet he exhorts them to make their
calling and election sure. And though they had heard an audible
voice from heaven bearing testimony that Jesus was the Son of God,
yet he says we have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do
well that ye take heed as unto a light shining in a dark place.
Now, wherein could they have a more sure word of prophecy than to
hear the voice of God saying, "This is my beloved Son?" etc. Now
for the secret and grand key. Though they might hear the voice
of God and know that Jesus was the Son of God, this would be no
evidence that their election and calling was made sure; that they
had part with Christ, and were joint heirs with Him. They then
would want that more sure word of prophecy, that they were sealed
in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom
of God. Then, having this promise sealed unto them, it was an
anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. Though the thunder might
roll and the lightning flash and earthquakes bellow, and war gather
thick around, yet this hope and knowledge would support the soul
in every hour of trial, trouble and tribulation. Then knowledge
through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the grand key that
unlocks the glories and mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven.

THE VALUE OF AGED MEN IN COUNCIL.

The way to get along in any important matter is to gather unto
yourself wise men, experienced and aged men, to assist in council
in all times of trouble. Handsome men are not apt to be wise
and strong-minded; but the strength of a strong-minded man will
generally create coarse features, like the rough, strong bough of
the oak. You will always discover in the first glance of a man, in
the outline of his features, something of his mind.

SALVATION--IN WHAT IT CONSISTS.

Salvation is nothing more nor less than to triumph over all our
enemies and put them under our feet. And when we have power to
put all enemies under our feet in this world, and a knowledge to
triumph over all evil spirits in the world to come, then we are
saved as in the case of Jesus, who was to reign until he had put
all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy was death.

DESIRABILITY OF POSSESSING EARTHLY TABERNACLES.

Now, in this world mankind are naturally selfish, ambitious and
striving to excel one above another, yet some are willing to build
up others as well as themselves. So in the other world there are a
variety of spirits. Some seek to excel. And this was the case with
Lucifer when he fell. He sought for things which were unlawful.
Hence he was cast down, and it is said he drew away many with him,
and the greatness of his punishment is that he shall not have a
tabernacle. This is his punishment. So the Devil, thinking to
thwart the decree of God by going up and down in the earth seeking
whom he may destroy--any person that he can find that will yield to
him, he will bind him, and take possession of the body and reign
there, glorying in it mightily, not thinking that he had gotten a
stolen tabernacle, and by and by some one having authority will
come along and cast him out and restore the tabernacle to its
rightful owner. But the devil steals a tabernacle because he has
not one of his own, but if he steals one, he is always liable to be
turned out of doors.

OF THE SPIRITS IN PRISON.

I will say something about the spirits in prison. There has been
much said by modern divines about the words of Jesus (when on the
cross) to the thief, saying, "This day shalt thou be with me in
paradise." King James' translation makes it out to say paradise.
But what is paradise? It is a modern word, it does not answer at
all to the original word that Jesus made use of. Find the original
of the word paradise. You may as easily find a needle in a haymow.
Here is a chance for battle, ye learned men. There is nothing in
the original word in Greek from which this was taken that signifies
paradise, but it was, "This day thou shalt be with me in the world
of spirits: then I will teach you all about it and answer your
inquiries." And Peter says he went out and preached to the world of
spirits (spirits in prison, 1st Peter, 3rd chapter, 19th verse), so
that they who would receive it could have it answered by proxy by
those who live on the earth. * * * Hades, the Greek, or Sheol, the
Hebrew, these two significations means a world of spirits. Hades,
Sheol, paradise, spirits in prison, are all one, it is a world of
spirits. The righteous and the wicked will go to the same world of
spirits until the resurrection. "I do not think so," says one. If
you will go to my house any time, I will take my lexicon and prove
it to you. The great misery of departed spirits in the world of
spirits, where they go after death, is to know that they come short
of the glory that others enjoy, and that they might have enjoyed
themselves, and they are their own accusers.

THE PERSISTENCE OF OBTAINED INTELLIGENCE.

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life,
it will rise with us in the resurrection, and if a person gains
more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence
and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in
the world to come. There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven
before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are
predicated, and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by
obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

THE DESIRABILITY AND POWER OF KNOWLEDGE.

If we get puffed up by thinking that we have much knowledge, we
are apt to get a contentious spirit, and correct knowledge is
necessary to cast out that spirit. The evil of being puffed up with
correct [though useless] knowledge is not so great as the evil of
contention. Knowledge does away with darkness, suspense and doubt,
for these cannot exist where knowledge is. * * * In knowledge there
is power. God has more power than all other beings, because He has
greater knowledge, and hence He knows how to subject all other
beings to Him. He has power over all. * * * It is not wisdom that
we shall have all knowledge at once presented before us, but that
we should have a little at a time; then we can comprehend it. *
* * Add to your faith knowledge, etc. The principle of knowledge
is the principle of salvation. This principle can be comprehended
by the faithful and diligent; and every one that does not obtain
knowledge sufficient to be saved will be condemned. The principle
of salvation is given us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.